Communique of The G(irls)20 Summit
Toronto, Canada
June 15 - 18, 2010
OTTAWA, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -
Preamble
We, the 21 delegates of the first ever G(irls)20 Summit, know that girls and women have the potential to play a pivotal role in building communities and countries and being catalysts for economic progress around the globe.
We come together in the days before the gathering of the leaders of the world's most powerful nations at the G-8 and G-20 meetings to be the voice that reminds the leaders of the importance of eliminating barriers for girls and women everywhere, and to mobilize change-makers worldwide to add their voices to ours.
We are here because:
We know that education opens doors for girls and women, yet nearly 40 million school-aged girls worldwide are not in classrooms.
We know that 14 million girls age 15 to 19 give birth each year, and that pregnancy is the leading cause of death in that age group.
We know that newborn children in least-developed countries are 14 times more likely to die in their first month of life, yet when girls and women work and earn an income they help forge a pathway out of poverty for themselves and for their families.
Many who have come before us have identified the barriers to girls and women making a contribution to progress around the world. The UN has drafted the Millennium Development Goals we need to work towards. We came together in Toronto to chart a way there.
In our deliberations we addressed the subjects of Education; Child and Maternal Health; and Economic Opportunity and discussed ideas that have been shared by girls in 190 countries who participated in a global online conversation in advance of our meeting.
We focused on solutions over the three days of the Summit and collectively, we have agreed upon a set of recommendations. We call upon the leaders and change-makers in our countries, and beyond, to admit that girls and women are an essential part of the solution to global challenges by considering, building upon and adopting these recommendations.
On the subject of Education
Access
1. We assert that there is an opportunity to support universal access to
primary and secondary education & non-formal education. We call upon
leaders and change-makers to:
2. Support policies and change laws to make education free and
compulsory
3. Establish a standard term for compulsory education
4. Fund the necessary facilities to provide education as a national
priority
5. Leverage all public and media resources to both teach and promote
education as an important long-term investment for girls in society
Educators
6. We assert that the level of professionalism and commensurate salaries
are directly proportionate to the quality of teaching. We call upon
leaders and change-makers to:
7. Implement compulsory training and raise the standards of graduation
requirements for teachers and educators
8. Raise the average compensation for teachers according to their
qualifications and results
9. Mandate regular school inspections and supervision of educators
Curriculum and Learning Tools
10. We assert that a more gender sensitive and relevant curriculum would
empower girls and women to reach their full potential. We call upon
leaders and change-makers to:
11. Re-visit the portrayal of girls and women in textbooks like history
books
12. Equip students, including girls, with necessary and relevant skills
for income earning opportunities, either through internships and
placements or vocational training for relevant industries in schools
13. Mandate course diversity and gender sensitive curricula
14. Introduce training in self-defence and self-respect
15. Put sexual and reproductive health on school curricula to help girls
to have control of their own bodies and reduce their vulnerability
Community Benefits
16. We assert that people in underprivileged parts of developing
countries would be more inclined to send their children to school if
they were incentivized to do so. We call upon leaders and change-
makers to:
17. Introduce benefits and incentives for school children including:
a. Meals
b. Agricultural gardens
c. Vocational training institutes
d. Housing for students
e. Bicycles
f. Subsidized goats
g. Play pumps (child-friendly structures that pump clean water
through play)
18. Provide government subsidies for families who send all youth
(including girls) to school
19. Deploy local campaigns of teachers and community leaders to
communicate the incentives and benefits of sending girls to school
Safety
20. We assert that there exists a lack of safe and supportive school
environments due to violence, sexual assaults and lack of sanitary
resources for girls. We call upon leaders and change-makers to:
21. Require the presence of school security patrols
22. Introduce sanitation and other resources for girls and women in the
school system including gender segregated washrooms, sanitary pads
and painkillers.
On the subject of Maternal and Child Health
Health and Sexual Health Education
1. We assert that the lack of comprehensive health and sexual health
education for both sexes from an early age in schools contributes to
higher pregnancy and mortality rates. We call on leaders and change-
makers to:
2. Implement comprehensive health and sexual health learning in schools
3. Educate girls to be self-confident, inform them about their rights,
and empower them to refuse forced sex
4. Change existing health and sexual health curriculum from abstract
lesson plans to specific, effective and direct instruction
5. Raise awareness of the possible implications of sexual intercourse
including pregnancy and childbirth
6. Provide education on prenatal care, childbirth and childcare
Unplanned Pregnancy
7. We assert that girls and women should have easy access to
contraceptive methods as well as control over their reproductive and
sexual health, and that maternity is a choice. We call upon leaders
and change-makers to:
8. Ensure that religious beliefs do not increase the vulnerability of
girls and women
9. Challenge harmful traditional practices like child marriage, which
leads to children being involved in early sexual activities when not
physically ready to give birth
10. Ensure education about, and access to, both male and female
contraception, and safe abortion
Health Systems
11. We assert that maternal and child death could be prevented by
increasing the number of skilled workers and implementing widespread
and well-equipped medical centres and mobilization of health
services. We call upon leaders and change-makers to:
12. Provide appropriate salary and education for healthcare workers
13. Focus on knowledge transfer and train healthcare workers to educate
their patients
14. Provide incentives for healthcare workers to serve in high need areas
15. Encourage community and partner participation in prenatal care
16. Work to educate respected community leaders about safe practices and
basic medical knowledge
17. Deploy mobile medical centres (tents, trucks).
On the subject of Economic Opportunity
Societal and Self Value
1. We assert that changing the societal perspective that girls and women
are inferior to boys and men defined by their bodies and their
motherhood, and encouraging girls and women in challenging that
perspective, would reduce the double burden and open up
opportunities. We call on leaders and change-makers to:
2. Use educational tools like life orientation courses in primary
schools to teach respect to boys and encourage self-respect in girls
3. Create role model mentorship programs by encouraging and
incentivizing those who have achieved secondary or post-secondary
education to return to their communities as mentors
4. Legislate universal childcare policies (including paternity leave) so
women are not restricted to being mothers
5. Encourage media to support portraying an alternative image for girls
and women
Business Development
6. We assert that women in many countries, especially in developing
countries, are not able to be economically productive because of
obsolete and misinterpreted cultural practices and traditions and
that reducing both economic and cultural barriers to women setting up
small businesses would have a beneficial effect on economies. We call
on leaders and change-makers to:
7. Develop markets in small villages and rural areas, including
handicraft, spices, sewing, tailoring, etc.
8. Introduce vocational training for girls and women as well as skill
building institutes
9. Reduce registration fees and simplify registration processes for
small business
10. Provide more women with access to capital, whether through micro-
finance or other governmental means
11. Make small business development advice available to more girls and
women
12. Provide financial literacy training at the community level
13. Identify and promote alternative employment opportunities for women
who only have the sex trade as an income-earning option
Employability
14. We assert that initiating an effort to teach employable skills and
self-preservation starting as early as primary education and opening
up opportunities in the job market would lessen restrictions that
currently exist due to maternal responsibilities. We call on leaders
and change-makers to:
15. Recognize the double burden women face by exploring monetary return
and access to childcare centres
16. Establish carefully constructed course curricula for training to be
distributed around the world on multiple platforms.
SOURCE The Belinda Stronach Foundation
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